RIA in Practice: Group Exercise

Dr. Malathy KnightResearch Associate, Verite Research

March 26th, 2015

• Delve deeper into particular element of RIA: the RIA process (vs. RIA document)

• Technical capacity (RIA document) necessary but not sufficient for effective, sustainable RIA

Consistent/in sync with broader regulatory policy principles/framework

Policy buy-in (political, stakeholder): #LK story on RIA vs plantations & telco privatization

• Real world problem-solving/asking the hard policy questions: most meaningful takeaway from this workshop

Objective: unpacking the RIA process

• Setting out objectives, context, contours: 15 minutes

• Group work : 90 minutes Begin with 2 debating teams (45 minutes) Use the findings from debate for group presentation• Group presentations: 15 minutes Suggested case study: focus on a sector currently

topical to #India (financial, energy/utilities??) Use your own/collective experiences as policy

implementers Interactive, problem-solving

Group exercise: structure

• Clearly set out policy objectives Broad public policy/regulatory governance principles & objectives RIA-specific objectives (in chosen sector)

• Identify key policy issues/challenges w.r.t RIA process in chosen sector

• Unpack these policy issues (e.g. policy buy-in) looking to: Effectiveness Sustainability Going back to any other policy objectives identified above

• Ask the tough questions: is RIA useful in the first place? Why?

Group exercise: some conceptual guidelines

• Set out a workable “mock” RIA process template (what, why, how) for chosen sector: fit/integrate into India’s public policy structures/processes (including legal traditions/dispute resolution)

• Some elements to consider (not exhaustive list; leave it to you the practitioners!)

Political context (including politicians: bureaucrats principal-agent dynamics)

Socio-economic context Governance culture (e.g. regulatory “independence”, RTI, civil society

“voice”, culture of consultation) Mapping of key stakeholders Organizational set up (e.g. where in the policy chain should this entity

be placed, financial & technical resources)

Group exercise: some conceptual guidelines

• Systematic, structured, evidence-based, consultative analysis of the prospective impacts of a proposed policy measure against possible alternatives (ex-ante)

• “..RIA’s most important contribution to the quality of decisions is not the precision of the calculations used, but the action of analyzing – questioning, understanding real-world impacts and exploring assumptions..” (OECD, 2002)

• NOT an end itself; process matters (demonstration effects)

Discussion on RIA process: a quick review

• Sub-set of regulatory policy: effectiveness/efficiency, transparency/accountability, proportionality, consistency, legitimacy – facilitating better governance structures and processes

• Two inter-linked elements: RIA process and RIA document

Discussion on RIA process: a quick review

Discussion on RIA process: policy context

Fits policy cycle

Consistent analytical method

Iterative process

Public consultation

Stakeholder buy-in &

engagement

Discussion on RIA process: policy context

Policy Space

Discussion on RIA process: policy context

Setting agenda

Drafting rule/regulation

ImplementationMonitoring

Enforcement

Ex-post evaluation

Ex-ante appraisal

Final impact

assessment

Implementation

Monitoring

Discussion on RIA process: policy space

1 Figure 2.1. The policy process: a schematic

Policy demands

Interest groups/ Parties/ Organisations

Policy outputs

Policy outcomes

The decision system

Organisational network

Inputs Mediating variables

(a) The political system

(b)

Environment Environment Environment

Environment Environment Environment

Bi-directional flow

Uni-directional flow

The political system “black box”

The “internal” policy process

Legend

Discussion on RIA process: policy space

1 Figure 2.2. Conceptualising North's theoretical framework: a schematic

ORGANISATIONS E.g. The state, Executive,

legislative & judicial arms of

government, Regulatory

agencies, Political parties,

Interest groups, Donors

INSTITUTIONS Formal Rules E.g. Constitutions, Laws, Property rights (Contracts), Global governance mechanisms (donor conditionality, GATS commitments) Informal Norms E.g. Trust, Power, Rent-

seeking (corruption), Culture

INDIVIDUALS E.g. President of a country, Minister of Parliament, Justice of the Supreme Court, Chairperson of a regulatory agency, an individual citizen of a country

Legend

Mutually re-enforcing feed-back loop

Discussion on RIA process: regulatory space

Independent judiciary

y n

Inefficiencies, government ownership, international guarantees

Unified government

y n

Parties alternate in government

Specific process written in law or contract?

y n

Legally binding contractual arrangements?

Complex party decision making? Legally binding contractual arrangements?

n y

n y

Inefficiencies, government ownership, international guarantees

y n

Strong bureaucracy? Inefficiencies,

government ownership, international guarantees

Strong bureaucracy?

y n

y n

Complex rules

Simple rules Complex rules

Simple rules

Thank you